Catalyst by Viola Grace

Chapter One
    Maeryn Lassiter stared at the stone wall across from her as she sat up on the cold, damp floor. “Damn it. I hate this part.”
    “What the hell is your skill, Agent Lassiter? It certainly isn’t avoiding this kind of situation.” The deep growl from behind her was distinct.
    She rolled up and knelt while staring at her superior officer. “No, sir. I know how to get us out of this situation if that is any consolation.”
    Mae watched Nothven Harring of Creyar sit up and rub his head. They made up two out of the three beings in the pit. Ambassador Obnalik was the third kidnap victim, and he was still lying under the influence of the sedating bomb that had gone off in their faces.
    Nothven winced and straightened against the wall of the pit.
    Mae quickly distracted herself by looking up at the forty feet of slick stone above them and the laser web halfway up. Light was visible at the top, so day had arrived while they were out.
    She quickly looked back at Nothven, but the black leather wasn’t any less attractive as it pulled over his thighs, abs and crotch. She winced and looked away again. “We will be here for a few more hours.”
    “How can you know that?” He groaned again.
    She blinked as he got to his feet and stretched. Suddenly, kneeling wasn’t the best idea for her peace of mind. She scrambled upright and leaned back against the wall, trying to be casual in her own black leathers.
    “That is my talent. I can’t see the whole future, just flickers of it and my place in it. On Earth, we call it déjà vu, the feeling of being somewhere before or seeing something before it happens and recognizing it when it does. As the event comes closer, I see more and more of it and what I need to make sure that it happens.”
    Nothven blinked, “You are serious.”
    Mae shrugged. “I am. I even know how we are going to get out of here, and I was working on our escape plan all night.”
    “You knew we would be captured and you didn’t say anything?” His outrage was palpable.
    This was the hard part. “I can see cause and effect of any of my actions. It flickers through my thoughts, and I know what happens next until my actions run their course, but only in the course of the events I am…oh never mind.”
    She sighed and turned her head skyward, two more hours at least.
    Mae held her hand over her face as Obnalik pissed high against the north wall in the red light of the fading sunset. The acid in his urine burned through the soft rock with ease.
    Nothven was looking at her with astonishment in his gaze, but his hand over his mouth masked her triumph.
    Obnalik had been at it for five minutes, and he showed no signs of stopping.
    It was the most disgusting escape she had ever engaged in, but the moment that light showed through the wall in the ambassador’s path a grudging respect lit in Nothven’s eyes.
    As the ambassador cut them free and finally emptied his bladder, the fresh air did wonders for Mae’s stomach.
    Obnalik grinned, his yellow skin gleaming in the reddish light coming through the hole in the wall. “I can climb down. How will you manage?”
    Nothven shifted his shoulders eagerly. “I can fly.”
    Mae smiled and shooed them along. “I will manage. Off you go. Meet you on the beach.”
    The ambassador scrambled through the opening he had created, and he began to climb down. His skin issued acid that allowed him to dig hand and foot holes in the rock.
    She looked at Nothven. “Well, off you go.”
    He shook his head. “How are you getting down?”
    She crossed her arms. “None of your business.”
    “I beg to differ, you are my subordinate. I am responsible for you. Come on.” Without another word, he bent forward and two huge, black-feathered wings burst from his back. He scooped her up and jumped off the cliff, gliding to a soft landing in the sand.
    She was blushing nineteen shades of pink when he landed. “Put me down please, Enforcer Harring.”
    He snickered. “So, this is